Customer Reviews

Much Ado About Nothing (Arkangel Shakespeare)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like the Arkangel 'Much Ado' in general, but actually prefer the BBC version with David Tennant (available as a download). Why? For DT, of course. Both the actor playing Benedick here and DT whirl through all the witty banter at the beginning. However, I was thoroughly convinced at Benedick's change of heart in the DT version, where he is not just helping Beatrice out of duty or self-interest, but because he genuinely feels her pain and sees Hero's distress from her point of view. It is in the second half of the play where Tennant brings creates a nuanced character that I haven't see from any other actor. One would expect that the visuals available on stage or film would assist with this, but I didn't expect to be able to hear it on an audio book.

However, that isn't this version. This one is mighty fine and I enjoyed it tremendously. Enjoy!

I have been using this CD with my 9th grade literature class for the last two weeks. The actors use clear diction and their presentation of the language helps the students that are struggling to a better understanding of the text. Bryan Pringle's Dogberry is a real gem.

This fully dramatized production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is delightful. Shakespeare's wit comes through in full force (especially in the Beatrice-Benedick storyline): I love that the words from hundreds of years ago can evoke my laughter today. This play is immensely fun and the performance is excellent.

The enunciation of the lines is clear and the voices of the different characters are distinct, but - not being a Shakespeare expert - I found it invaluable to read over the synopsis included in the liner notes, since the audio performance does not include any stage directions or character identification (as in "Beatrice:" and "Claudio:").* With that small help, however, my enjoyment was unhampered.

I highly recommend this dramatization!

* Indulgent tangent: The occasional confusion resulting from a lack of character identification reminded me of a wonderfully clever passage in Jasper Fforde's Lost in a Good Book (the sequel to The Eyre Affair) in which a fictional character hiding out in the real world is revealed due to his inability to follow "undedicated" dialogue (i.e., dialogue without explicit attribution as to who is speaking). Fforde's books are wonderful, silly fun for the Shakespeare and other literature lover; the passage I refer to is on page 360-361 of the paperback edition.